


The Talk

by Archer85



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 08:04:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13313967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archer85/pseuds/Archer85
Summary: When Sam and Dean become concerned about a possible budding romance between Jack and Kaia, they must grapple with the unknown element of Nephilim -- and Angel -- sexuality. Dean and Sam lean on Castiel for insight, and his revelations open up a whole new world of possibilities for Dean. (Rating for later chapters)





	1. Preface - Aka Maybe We Need a Living Room

As Dean walked by Jack’s room on his way to breakfast, he wasn’t exactly surprised to see Kaia in there already. The two of them had become quite…close...since everyone had returned from their far-flung reaches. 

He and Sam had already made plans to find Kaia a more permanent set-up with Jody. But for right now, they needed her dream-walking talents, so she was a temporary resident of the bunker. Jack was helping her stabilize the use of her dream-walking, and they would sometimes spend hours mentally visiting other realities just for fun. 

Dean had been trying to avoid dealing with this issue, but as he heard Kaia giggle a particularly flirtatious giggle, he decided it was time to face the music. Luckily for him, Sam was already in the kitchen having breakfast and checking the nation’s news on his tablet. 

“I think we need to repurpose one of these rooms into a living room,” Dean said to his brother, by way of a morning greeting.

Sam looked mildly surprised and asked, “Not that I’m against the idea, but why?”

Dean made a long, rather dramatic sigh and replied, “Because I think Jack and Kaia need somewhere to hang out that isn’t a bedroom.” 

Sam’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Dean gave him a knowing look. 

Sam nodded after a moment and said, “Yeah, you might be right.”

The two men drank their coffees in silence for a long moment. Then Dean broke it once again.

“You know, we’re probably going to have to have a talk with Jack about this at some point in the near future.” 

“Dean, she’s probably not going to be with us much longer—”

“Yeah, but this isn’t just about her. There’s a lot of girls on earth, Sam, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Look, we don’t even know if Jack has those kinds of feelings, or if he's even capable of them. Maybe Nephilim don’t work that way.”

“ _That_ is exactly my point, Sam. We don’t know anything. Suppose he does, and he ends up impregnating some woman with a baby that can create black holes on a whim, or has three heads.” 

“Well, the lore I’ve seen doesn’t mention anything about offspring of Nephilim and humans. Or any other supernatural beings, for that matter. Maybe it’s not even possible.”

“Yeah, but you know the lore on Nephilim isn’t exactly plentiful. And most of it seems more hearsay-ie than usual. Plus, Jack isn’t any old run-of-the-mill Nephilim. He’s the son of one of the most powerful Archangels ever. Regular rules may not apply when it comes to him.” 

“So, what do you suggest? We just tell him he can’t ever have sex with anyone because we don’t know for sure what could happen? Doesn’t that seem a little extreme?” 

“Look, I’m the last guy on earth who wants to condemn another to a life of celibacy. But this isn’t like getting a bad case of crabs. He could create major damage on a cosmic scale for all we know.” 

Sam was quiet for a long moment. 

“We should talk to Cas.”

Dean was slightly taken aback by this. 

“Why do you think he’d be able to help?”

“Well for one, he’s the only angel we know who is willing to have a civil conversation with us. For another, he might know things that aren’t in the lore. I mean, there’s little to nothing in it about angel sexuality more broadly. He may be able to fill in a few gaps and at least make some educated guesses.” 

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll give him a call. But it might be a while before he can make his way back here, and I don’t know how much time we have before the twitterpation down the hall can be held at bay. I think we may need to at least have a sit-down with Jack sooner rather than later.” 

“Fair enough. Rock, paper, scissors?” 

“Can’t you just do it, man? I think your rapport with him is a little stronger than mine.” 

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?” Sam said, his tone a little teasing. 

Dean held his brothers gaze for a long moment, then faltered. 

“I’m just not _that guy_ , you know, the one that gives sex talks to teenagers about being responsible and making good life choices. I’d feel a little ridiculous starting now.” 

Sam smiled a hint of a wicked smile, put his right fist over his open left hand and said, “Too bad.”

Dean rolled his eyes dramatically, put down his cup of coffee and imitated his brother’s hands. “Screw you.” 

The result -- predictably -- did not turn out in Dean’s favor. 

“Sonofabitch!” 

Sam smiled even wider and turned back to his tablet saying, “Don’t forget to tell me how it goes.” 

“Yeah, yeah, fuck you.”


	2. The Talk - Dean and Jack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean has "The Talk" with Jack. The Winchesters make plans to confer with Cas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick FYI about canon compliance. This fic is obviously set more or less at the 'present' point in the show's timeline (as of its publication). But I'm honestly just pretending the whole Asmodeus thing is not a thing because it is too annoying to write around, given my premise. So in my version, Cas is just on his own looking for Lucifer who is somewhere on earth hiding out and scheming.

A few sips into his second cup of coffee, Dean finally had the mental fortitude to hatch a plan. It involved Bisquick. 

First, he made himself a nice big stack of pancakes and enjoyed his own handiwork thoroughly. That wasn’t really part of the plan, he was just hungry. Then he took the liberty of making a fresh short-stack for Kaia. They were her favorite, and tempting enough to draw her away from her adventures with Jack, who for his part, rarely ate. 

As soon as they were on a plate, Dean walked briskly down the hall and found the two adolescents sitting next to each other on Jack’s bed, recounting their latest exploits.

“Did you feel how soft their fur was? I’ve never felt anything like it here.”

Dean made a perfunctory noise to announce his presence and said, “Morning you two. There’s hot pancakes in the kitchen if anyone’s hungry.” 

“Sweet!” Kaia was out of the room in a flash, cantering down the hall. She still was not quite used to having such a steady diet of home-cooked food. 

Jack rose more slowly, clearly intending to follow her when Dean put out a hand and said, “Can you sit back down for sec, we need to have a chat.”

Jack’s eyebrows furrowed intently. 

“Is something the matter?” he asked, his voice covered in concern.

“No, no, everything’s alright,” Dean assured him as he pulled up a chair and sat. “I more just want to make sure it stays that way.”

Jack turned his head to the side and gave Dean a quizzical look that was the spitting-image of Cas. He errantly thought, not for the first time, that perhaps Kelly was actually mistaken as to Jack’s paternity. But that was an issue for another day. 

“Jack, you’ve…been spending a lot of time with Kaia lately. It seems like you two really like each other.”

Jack perked up immediately and his face took on an earnest glow of pleasure. 

“Yes, I enjoy visiting other worlds in her dream-walking. She has an interesting take on things and I am learning so much from her perspective. I can see she has endured a lot pain in her life, and I really like seeing her find things that make her happy. It makes me happy to see her happy.”

Dean was unexpectedly moved by both what Jack said and the way he said it. There was no pretense, no downplaying, no attempt to look cool. That level of casual honesty from Jack sometimes threw Dean for a loop. 

“Yeah, and it’s great that you like making her happy. But I need to ask if you...” 

Dean faltered and rubbed his hands anxiously over his thighs. 

“Sorry, this is a little awkward for me. Jack, I’m wondering if you feel anything for her other than friendship?”

Jack’s face reverted back to confusion. 

“I’m sorry Dean, I’m not entirely sure what you mean.”

“Jack, you…understand how human babies are made, right?”

“Yes, through a particular version of sexual intercourse between a man and a woman.” 

“Right.”

Dean had hoped that would be enough prompting, but Jack was still looking at him with a blank, expectant face. Damnit, he was going to have to really lay it out. 

“So, you know that humans sometimes have particular feelings for other humans that cause them to want to have sex with each other.”

Jack’s face began to morph into comprehension. 

“I see. You are asking if I have the desire to have sexual intercourse with Kaia.”

Again, Dean was reminded uncannily of Cas, who was also apt to talk about sex – when he did – in this highly clinical fashion. 

Jack stopped for a moment and seemed to be thinking it over. 

“I am…not entirely sure. How would I know what such an urge feels like?”

At first, Dean had no clue how to answer that question. It just seemed intuitive to him. Then, a thought hit him.

“Well, how do you know that you feel hungry or tired? It’s sort of the same thing.” 

Jack blinked. He really seemed to be mulling it over, which frankly did not bode well for Dean getting the answer he preferred. 

“I…don’t ever have the urge to simply take off our clothes and put my penis in her vagina. But, there are…things that I feel about her that are different from how I feel about you, or Sam, or Castiel.”

“Like what?” 

“She is the person I most prefer to spend time with. When we are in the same room, I want to be close to her. Making her happy feels really, really good to me. Touching her skin is very pleasant. It is calming and exciting at the same time, somehow.” 

Dean’s heart sank a little, even as he couldn’t help appreciating the charming innocence of Jack’s description. While the boy was probably not consumed by lust just yet, his feelings were clearly verging on romantic and erotic territory. Perhaps he was still in some very early stage of puberty, whatever that meant for Nephilim. 

“Okay. Jack, it sounds like what you are describing is what humans would call having a crush.” 

“What does that mean?”

“Well – from the way it sounds – you like Kaia in a way that can mean having romantic and sexual feelings for someone. But the feelings are…mild, they aren’t fully formed.”

Jack’s face took on an enigmatic expression. Again, he seemed to be mulling over Dean’s words very carefully. 

“Dean, what is the difference between sexual desire and romantic love?”

Dean felt the back of his neck and his ears heat up. 

“Whoo-boy. Well, that is...a really complicated thing. And I’d be lying to you if I said humans really understood it completely, because we don’t. But the short answer is that sometimes we just feel sexual desire for someone, without romantic love. Sometimes we feel both at the same time. And sometimes we don’t feel sexual desire for someone until we fall in love with them.”

“You said it is possible to have sexual desire without romantic love. Is it possible to have romantic love without sexual desire?”

“I suppose. It’s probably not all that common, but everyone is a little bit different. And you have to understand that there aren’t really clean lines between a lot of these things. They bleed into each other a lot, and sometimes it can be hard to know what you’re really feeling.” 

Jack nodded earnestly and remained silent. He seemed to be taking this quite seriously, which made Dean feel a little better. 

“But, the real reason I wanted to talk to you about this is—”

“It could be dangerous for someone like me,” Jack interjected. 

He was clearly well-schooled in the idea that he was a threat by now. Perhaps a little too well-schooled, if Dean was being honest with himself. 

“Truthfully, yes. Look, there’s a lot about this that we just don’t know. All of us are kind of working in the dark. It might end up being perfectly fine. But, you know that your mother died giving birth to you and it created a tear in space-time. It might end up being the same if you ever father a child. Or something completely different could happen that also causes a lot of pain or problems.” 

Jack nodded fervently. 

“I understand.”

“I’m not saying it’s totally outside of the realm of possibility. Sam and I are trying to find out more. The next time Cas is back in our neck of the woods, we’re going to see what he might know about all this. But in the meantime, I’d suggest you be cautious about how you express your feelings toward Kaia, particularly if things ever get…physical between you two.” 

Jack nodded again. 

Dean gave him a firm pat on the knee and got up to walk out. A thought occurred to him just outside the threshold of Jack’s bedroom door, and he quickly spun around to give Jack some parting advice. 

“And if you want to talk about it in the meantime, Sam’s door is always open.” 

He paused briefly before adding, “And so is mine. But try Sam’s first.” 

Jack smiled ever so slightly, and Dean took that as license to leave the boy with his thoughts.

He, for one, was surprised at how well that conversation had gone. Regardless of how it panned out for Jack, Dean was at least certain his take had been a vast improvement over “the talk” his father had given him at age 9. Given the awkward, painful way that whole thing had gone down, it was a miracle Dean had ever managed to lose his virginity at all. 

Returning to his own room, the elder Winchester shut the door and dialed the second most frequent contact in his call-history. 

“Hello Dean.”

“Hey Cas. Where are you?”

“Just outside Las Cruzes, tracking down a lead on Lucifer. Why? Is anything the matter?”

“No. But we do have a certain situation brewing here, and it would be a big help if you could head back this way when you have some time to spare.”

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s about Jack and Kaia, the girl whose been staying with us.”

“Yes, the dream-walker.”

“Right. She and Jack have become quite close lately, and it seems like their bond isn’t strictly platonic, if you know what I mean.”

“I see,” Cas said, in his deep timbre. “You are concerned about the potential ramifications of some kind of sexual congress between them.”

“Not to put too fine a point on it, but yeah.” 

“You are right to be concerned.”

“Why, do you know something?”

“It’s complicated. As you know, Nephilim are incredibly rare. Information about them is spotty even among angels, but we do know that their powers are effected by the rank of angel that sired them. Most previous Nephilim were sired by lower-order angels, and none to my knowledge have ever gone as high as Archangels. These are very murky waters, Dean.” 

“I know. That’s why we want you to come back. We want to get as much information from you about this as we can before we decide what exactly to do about Jack.” 

“I’m not sure I entirely understand. Would it not be easier to simply tell him to refrain from having intercourse?” 

Dean sighed. Most of the time, Cas was the most human angel that Dean knew. But sometimes, he was the most angel angel Dean knew. 

“It might not be that simple, Cas. For all we know, him bottling up his sexual feelings could cause as much damage or more than him acting on them. We can’t just forbid it, move on and assume it will all be okay.” 

“I see your point. His control over his powers is still patchy and erratic. And his emotional states do seem to impact how they manifest. You are right, this needs more attention. I will look into this lead as quickly as possible and head back if nothing pans out.”

“Sounds good. See you soon. Let me know when you're headed back this way.”

“Will do. Goodbye Dean.”

“Bye Cas.”

As per usual, Dean was left with that slightly uneasy feeling he got whenever he broached the subject of sexuality with Cas. Cas’s attitude towards the topic always seemed so formal and detached. It was alienating to Dean, and he wondered why some angels seemed interested sex – like Gabriel and Balthazar – and some didn’t. 

Although if Sam had his way, they were both on the fast-track to finding out the answer to that question, and many others that had frankly been stewing in the back of Dean’s brain for a long time. Just the thought of it put a few butterflies in his stomach and he found himself hoping intently that Cas’s lead in Las Cruzes quickly led to absolutely nothing. 

*

About an hour later, Sam came by Dean’s room clearly looking for an update.

“Catch any potential cases?” Dean asked. 

“Nope. How’d it go with Jack?”

“Okay, actually. A little awkward, but he understood.” 

Sam nodded, then asked, “You talk to Cas yet?” 

“Yeah, already called him. He’s working a lead in Las Cruzes. He’s going to head back here after if nothing pans out.”

“Did he say anything?”

“Not much. He seems to know a little, but I don’t think he’s going to be able to give us the full scoop. Sounds like the whole Nephilim thing is a sore-spot with the god squad, pretty taboo.” 

“Yeah, I am curious to find out why that is. But at least it helps explain why there’s so little lore on it.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if heaven had some kind of Nephilim extermination policy in ye olden days. Of course, that was probably before they started running out of angels. They definitely seem to want to welcome Jack into the fold now.” 

“But who knows if that’s because they actually see him as one of them, or just because they want to use his powers for something.”

“True. But can you imagine the angels suddenly turning pro Nephilim and trying to breed with humans so they don’t go extinct?”

“That’s a very worrying thought that I’m just going to table until Cas comes back. When do you think he’ll be gracing us with his presence once again?” 

“A week, maybe. I suspect it’ll take him a few days to check out this lead. And assuming it doesn’t pan out, he’ll need another couple of days to get back here, I reckon. I told him to let me know when he was headed back this way.”

“Okay. Hey, I wanted to ask you, do you think we should talk to Cas alone, before we bring Jack in on everything?”

Dean had been asking himself the very same question. He preferred that they first have a chance to talk to Cas without Jack present. There were a lot of questions that he feared might upset or embarrass the kid, but that they still definitely needed answers to. However, he could also see how it might be unfair to exclude Jack from a conversation that was so pertinent to him. 

“I dunno man. I really kind of want to talk to Cas alone, but I get why that might a shitty thing to do to Jack.” 

“I really think we should talk to him alone first.”

Sam tone was quite assured. 

“Oh?”

“If we end up having to give Jack bad news, I think it would be better if we had a chance to figure out the right way to break it to him.”

“Fair enough. Cas isn’t always the most tactful being on the planet. For that matter, neither am I.” 

“Well, I’m compiling a list of questions. You should probably do them same, and we can touch base about it before he gets back.”

“Yup. I'll let you know as soon as he gives me an update.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so everyone knows, I'm not always going to be able to update every single day. I wrote the first few chapters of this all at once, and I'm releasing them fairly quickly. But I probably won't be able to keep it at that pace for the full length of the fic. Just so your expectations don't get too high. :) Thank you for the reviews so far; I'm glad a few people are getting into it. <3


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